This Is My Promise
by Apple-RingoSauce
Summary: After Ichigo and co. successfully rescued Inoue, Rukia returned to retrieve what she had forgotten; Ashido.  Takes place after Arrancar arc.
1. Chapter 1

The dead silence is Hueco Mundo was eerie, yet peaceful. Not one Hollow moved, nor did the wind blow. The moon shone as usual, lighting the dark world. Then, a Garganta opened. It wasn't loud, but it did interrupt the serenity of the deadened world.

Rukia stepped out, making sure she landed carefully. Her vice-captain band on her forearm was attached to her black shinigami kimono, which blended well with her uneven raven hair. Her twilight purple eyes glistened with excitement and fear, as she tried to recall where the sand on the floor had somehow opened, and she fell to meet Ashido. At first she thought Ashido was a hollow, but she followed him anyways. He also attacked her, claiming it was to test her "strength", which he deemed to be poor. She still hadn't forgiven him for that, but soon she would.

Rukia leapt forward with great power, going as fast as she could to reach the pit. When she found it, she was breathless and fell to her knees in exhaustion. Then, she ground began to rumble. As the pit opened, Rukia braced herself for the fall. A few seconds later, she found herself sitting on the floor, her derriere hurting from the impact. She looked around restlessly, trying to catch any sign of her friend. When she couldn't, she panicked.

"Ashido!" she screamed almost immediately.

Instead of the redheaded man she had hoped to see, a small hollow lizard scampered across her path, startling her. It flicked its' tongue a few times before disappearing off in to the and. After Rukia finally took a deep breath, she tried again. "Ashido!"

But yet again, he didn't appear. Rukia sighed and turned around, then she heard a rustling in the dead leaves. Slightly worried, she rested her hand on Sode No Shirayuki*'s snow-white hilt.

Without seconds notice, a very large monstrous Hollow leaped out at her, growling menacingly. Rukia stepped back in shock, before unsheathing her Zanpakuto*. "Mai, Sode No Shirayuki."*

"Some No Mai: Tsukishiro!*" she yelled almost gleefully. It had been a while since she had fought a hollow.

With a swift jabbing at the ground and making the ground turn in to a huge circle of ice, Rukia quickly raised her sword so it faced the ground. She scrutinized the Hollow's every move, and when it finally came to attack her, she used her Shunpo* to escape.

As soon as she left the circle of ice, white ice with blue tints came cascading from the frozen area, freezing the seemingly clueless Hollow. Returning to the area which was now the shape of a pole, Rukia abruptly sliced the ice in half, thus causing the poor Hollow to meet its demise.

Rukia snorted smugly, before sheathing Sode No Shirayuki and heading off. She hadn't gotten far though, because from the corner of her eye, she saw a redheaded Hollow-like Shinigami. Its mask was that of a cow carcass, with a brown fuzzy cape with skulls embedded in various spots in it. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Ashido!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: SORRY FOR NO UPDATES IN A LONG TIME!

"I saw what you did back there… Not bad, Rukia. You've improved," he smirked, rubbing her head.

"Oh, shut up! I've defeated an Espada and the Exequias after I left from the under-under world!" she beamed, smiling enthusiastically.

"Oh, really? Which one?" he asked, fully interested.

"The Novena Espada, Aaroniero Arrurrurie." She gloated proudly.

Ashido turned his head a little. "Arrurrurie, eh? He's quite the manipulator, isn't he?" Ashido said flatly.

Rukia stepped back a little, quite surprised at the negative energy Ashido showed when she mentioned the Novena's name. How did he know him?

"So, Ashido… How do you know Aaroniero?" Rukia asked, trying to take some of a seemingly heavy burden off of his shoulders.

"Oh, I was here when Kaien Shiba's hollow was here. Arrurrurie pretended he was lost or something, and asked where the exit was. It turns out he was looking for some sort of mind-absorbing Hollow or something. He wasn't even an Espada yet… He did have a funny shape to his head."

Rukia nodded. She felt a little regret even mentioning the Kaien impersonator.

"Anyhow, I'm amazed you actually came back for me, Kuchiki. I thought you'd just forget about me." Ashido smiled warmly, trying to quickly change the subject.

"W-What? Why would I? I would never leave behind! I promised I'd bring you back, and I'm going to keep that promise!" Rukia said loudly, slightly offended.

"Woah, no need to get so defensive!... I just thought you were like the others, who wouldn't even think about returning to such a horrid place!" Ashido replied defensively.

"Well, have you ever asked for help?" she asked, quickly recomposing herself.

Ashido looked at the ground and shrugged. "No."

Rukia frowned. "Then why would you say they would come back?"

"It's obvious, Rukia. If anyone did care, they would have returned instead of leaving me."

Rukia was shocked. "Well, it's obvious I care, because I'm here, aren't I?"

Ashido glanced at Rukia, and shifted an eyebrow. He didn't say anything more.

A few moments passed, and nothing happened between the two. They just stood there, looking different directions, not interested in starting a conversation. Ashido was entertaining himself by drawing circles in the sand with his shoe, while Rukia was on the watch for a sign of some interesting Hollow to fight.

"So, I guess we should get going…" Ashido said finally.


	3. Chapter 3

Rukia was already adjusted to the silence of the seemingly endless dead forest, but now that Ashido was there, the silence just seem plain awkward. Rukia was fonder of the Soul Society, hearing the sounds of people talking and captains arguing.

"Not used to this, eh?" Ashido teased, finally deciding to speak up.

Rukia scowled, and then continued darting her eyes around for any sign of a Hollow. The peace, the sound of footsteps and Ashido's breathing was beginning to get on her nerves. Soul Society was so noisy and usually she wished it was dead quiet most of the time, but now she'd do anything to hear her friends babble. The only real exciting thing was that an occasional Hollow lizard would scurry by, but that wasn't nearly enough to quench Rukia's boredom. Walking was surely tiresome, not to mention that they had been meandering for about fifty minutes now. Rukia's throat was becoming dry, and she was growing even more impatient. "Ashido, I'm hungry and thirsty!"

Ashido jolted back, surprised from the girl's sudden outburst. "And what do you want me to do about it?" he asked sadistically.

"Gimme something to eat and drink!" she whined mockingly, making a childish face.

He grimaced. "Making faces won't get you anything to eat."

"I could say the exact same thing about you, Mr. I'm-going-to-borrow-this-hollow's-face!" she retorted playfully.

Ashido let a laugh escape his lips. It was the first time Rukia heard him laugh. It kept replaying in her head. It was so beautiful…

"Uh, Rukia? You alive?" Ashido snickered, enjoying the dazed look on Rukia's face.

Rukia jumped in surprise, letting a small yelp. "Whoops! My bad! How far away are we?"

Ashido rolled his eyes. "About two hours."

Rukia groaned in agony. Her legs were sore, and if anything they would soon fall off.

"Oh, suck it up. I've been careering about most of my life." Ashido scoffed, flicking her temple.

Rukia let out another yelp, but refused to react any more than she had.

"So, how've you been in Soul Society?" Ashido asked casually, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Boring… I haven't been there long since Aizen trapped us inside Hueco Mundo. I only had time to rest for a few days before returning here. Otherwise, the others have been good. We've defeated Aizen, so things have settled, but Yamamoto is still pretty shaken up still." Rukia replied, fixating her lavender eyes on his grey eyes.

"That's good that Aizen was eradicated. Now you guys can put your minds on other important affairs." Ashido said gently.

"Also, I learned a new kidou a while ago. I haven't mastered it yet." Rukia gloated proudly.

"Ah, so you excel in kidou?" Ashido asked, enjoying the small conversation.

Rukia thought about it for a minute. "Well, I guess you could put it that way."

Their talk subsided for a while. Rukia detested the silence. It made her feel uncomfortable.

A few minutes passed, the sounds of trudging footsteps replaying over and over. It was aggravating.

"Well, we're here. Do you know any type of kidou that could work like a Cero?" Ashido asked hopefully.

Rukia smiled. "Yup, just give me a minute," she said extending her hands so her palms faced the ceiling. "Shadkahou!"

Just then, a red laser-like beam cascaded from her palms, opening a small hole in the ceiling. Ashido was impressed, which he found quite surprising.

"I admit, I'm impressed." Ashido said.

"Nice voice disguise attempt, Ashido… How do we get up there?"

"Easy, come here."

Rukia walked over reluctantly to where Ashido was standing, trying to assemble the ideas of what he would do to get them out of this world.

As soon as she reached him, he picked her up bridal style. Rukia felt her face flush pink, and she turned her head in embarrassment.

"Aww, Kuchiki's blushing." Ashido sneered. Rukia didn't say anything.

All of a sudden, Ashido leapt in the air aimlessly trying to reach the hole, catching Rukia off guard, and she shrieked in surprise.

"Shut up, Rukia! You'll cause me to mess up!" Ashido hollered over her impulsive scream.

It was all over before it seemed it started. Ashido reached the surface with ease, holding a panting, flailing Rukia. Then he dropped her.

"OW! What was that for?" she demanded, as she rubbed her sore derriere.

Ashido shrugged and grinned slyly. "You're too heavy, Fatso."

He suddenly burst out laughing. Rukia loved his laugh. She joined him, and the two laughed for what seemed like forever.

FIN

A/N: Finally done! I'm terribly sorry for the long awaited update! I saved it on the school computer on my account, then it got disabled and I'm not allowed on the internet right now (I'm on the admin's user lol) and I finally decided to be sly and upload this! Reviews are highly appreciated! AND THANK YOU ALL! For all the watches, favorites and update alerts! Love you all!


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